Bernhard Kempa

The hand of the trainer

Bernhard Kempa played 131 games for the German national team, during which time he scored 31 goals. In 1954, he also added the runner-up World Championship title to the two world championship titles mentioned above. In addition to his successes in the national team, he was four times German champion as a player, twice outdoors in 1954 and 1955, and twice indoors in 1954 and 1957. but it is also remarkable that in 1947 he was already a coach at Frisch Auf Göppingen.Deutschland: His first period as a trainer lasted until 1961, during which time he won seven German championships in 1954,1955,1957,1958,1959,1960 and 1961, including field handball in 1954 and 1957. In 1960 he and his protégés won the European National Champions' Cup, after reaching the final of this competition in 1959. Later Bernhard Kempa was again the coach of Frisch Auf Göppingen from 1966 to 1971, when the club won the German championship in 1970.

Some interesting details

Bernhard Kempa will remain in the memory of handball fans as the inventor of the so-called Kempa trick. This is a timelessly popular, impressive move that many first-class teams with outstandingly trained players have mastered. The name of Bernhard Kempa is also used by a handball distribution company as well as a manufacturer of handball outfits. It is also worth noting that after his coaching career came to an end, Bernhard Kempa embraced his two hobbies, tennis and skiing. He also showed his outstanding talent when he became the world and European champion in senior tennis!

Krzysztof Świerc, November 2017

This article was first published in the Polish internet newspaper punkt. media (https://punkt.media/pl/wiadomosci-sportowe/6937-gornoslaski-fenomen-handballa-bernhar)